Social Media in High School Athletics: Recommendations for Individual and Organizational Branding in a Digital Age (Under the Direction of Dr

SOCIAL MEDIA IN HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS:

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL

BRANDING IN A DIGITAL AGE

Matthew J. Largen

A thesis submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Hussman School of Journalism and Media

Chapel Hill 2020

Submitted to:

Dr. Lois Boynton, Committee Chair

Dr. Brad Bates

Livis Freeman

ABSTRACT

Matthew Largen: Social Media in High School Athletics: Recommendations for Individual and Organizational Branding in a Digital Age (Under the direction of Dr. Lois Boynton)

High school athletics have soared to new heights in recent years. With millions of dollars invested into the media coverage and promotion of amateur athletes and high schools, it is important to be mindful of an individual’s and organization’s brand image in the Digital Age.

The purpose of this project is to analyze communication and branding strategies from professional and collegiate athletics, and tailor those findings into a sustainable brand strategy for high school athletics.

Ten in-depth interviews were conducted with collegiate and professional athletic communicators, collegiate student-athletes, and other members of the sporting community.

Findings suggested that an organization’s brand image will continue to be a valuable recruiting tool for student-athletes, but an individual’s brand, prior to collegiate athletics, will rarely affect his or her ability to be recruited. In all, brand strategies should appeal to an individual’s or organization’s target audience(s).

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND 3 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 8 Personal Branding 8 Personal Branding and Social Media 10 Personal Branding in Sports 12 Organizational Branding 15 Social Media in Organizational Branding 17 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH QUESTIONS & METHODS 19 In-Depth Interviews 20 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS 22 Social Media Within Sports 22 Branding in Athletics 32 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION 39 CHAPTER 7: BRANDING STRATEGY IN AMATEUR ATHLETICS 46 Introduction 46 Social Media Education 46 Social Media Plans 52 Social Media Plan for Sports Organizations 52 Student-Athlete Social Media Plan 56 CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION 62 APPENDIX A: INTERVIEW MATERIALS 65 1.1 Interview Protocol: 65 References 69

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND

In the summer of 2018, freshman Zion Williamson arrived at Duke University's campus for the first time. However, he did not only bring himself to the prestigious basketball powerhouse located in Durham, North Carolina, for 1 million Instagram followers made the journey with him (Smith, 2019). Prior to being a member of the Duke Blue Devils, the 6' 7'' forward garnered a large social following as a member of the Spartanburg Day School's varsity basketball team (GoDuke.com, 2019). In high school, Williamson stunned basketball viewers with his superhuman agility and dazzling dunks on the court.

Following his commitment to Duke and its basketball program, the team’s Instagram account saw an increased growth of 285,000 followers between July 2018-February 2019 (Smith,

2019). As a high schooler Williamson’s highlights generated millions upon millions of views between the social platforms of YouTube and Instagram. As of 2019, “Zion Williamson Day In

The Life By Park Stories! Up Close & Personal w/ The #1 Player In High School,” produced by

Ballislife.com, a media outlet dedicated to highlighting young basketball players throughout the country, has reached over 6.5 million views (Ballislife, 2019).

Other colleges and universities are seeing a similar phenomenon occur with their newest players recruited from high school. For example, University of North Carolina freshman Cole

Anthony has 557,000 Instagram followers (Anthony, n.d.), while the basketball program has

366,000 followers (Carolina Basketball, n.d.) and the University has 107,000 followers (UNC-

Chapel Hill, n.d.). Like Williamson, Anthony’s large social following was generated in the high school ranks. As a high schooler, Anthony was featured in SLAM Magazine’s video, “Cole

Anthony Came to Oak Hill for GREATNESS | SLAM Day in the Life,” which has accumulated

275,000 views on YouTube since March 2019 (SLAM, 2019).

Social channels such as Overtime, Ballislife, SLAM Magazine and others are able to

bypass the troubles of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) compliance and media

rights possessed by schools, athletic conferences, media outlets and others. For example,

collegiate schools that participated in the Big Ten Conference’s 2017-18 athletic schedule

received $54 million from their television partnerships (Berkowitz, 2019). However, the schools

forfeit their rights to own and broadcast games and events under their conference and television

agreements. With large sums of money being distributed at the collegiate level, one may question

how much money is being made by the social channels who specialize in high school sports

coverage.

In January 2018, world-renowned basketball player and social icon LeBron James and

hip-hop artist Drake were among a group that invested $4.7 million into a millennial-targeted sports platform Mars Reel (Mars Reel Enters Strategic Partnership, 2018). Additionally,

Overtime, another social channel dedicated to producing content based around high school student-athletes, is funded by the likes of venture capital firms like Spark Capital, Andreessen

Horowitz, Greycroft Ventures, and Sapphire Ventures as well as basketball industry leaders like

Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony (Overtime, 2019). In February 2019, Overtime's CEO Dan

Porter reported that the social channel is producing videos at a rate of $500 per minute. Derived mostly from advertising and commerce, the company reported seven-figures in revenue for 2018

(Patel, 2019).

Defined as the “highlight-driven generation” by two-time NBA Most Valuable Player

Stephen Curry, this young and sports-consuming audience falls under Generation Z (Herbert,

2016). Presently, Generation Z extends from 1997 to 2019, thus this audience’s ages range from

23-1 years old (Dimock, 2019). According to the early literature surrounding the Z’ers, their consumption of social media is a behavior that many organizations will need to monitor in the years to come. “This generation is a vigorous contributor, high consumer of online content, creative and mash-up experts; they have strong gravitational bond for online communication that they prefer to participate and remain connected via technology available at finger tips”

(PrakashYadav & Rai, 2017, p.111).

At the 2019 Web Summit in Portugal, the cofounder and President of Overtime, Zachary

Weiner, emphasized the importance of targeting of the Z’ers for the success of their organization.

“The next generation consumer — for us that means the Gen-Z consumer — is not consuming

sports in the same way,” Weiner said. “That means we have to put it in different places, we have

to have different creators and ultimately the voice has to be very different. For us, the most

important thing is that Overtime sounds like the people that we are presenting this content to.

When I talk to kids about what they like about Overtime, the No. 1 piece of advice I get is that it

sounds like their friends” (Weiner, 2019).

An evolving problem, the overwhelming majority of high schools and student-athletes are

not adequately prepared to represent and project their brand identity. A recent rule change in

collegiate athletics will allow amateur athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness.

Under the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) current eligibility rules, student-

athletes “may promote or endorse a commercial product or service, provided they do not receive

any compensation for doing so” (Promoting or Endorsing, 2019). Be that as it may, following

their enrollment in an NCAA school, the athlete is no longer eligible to promote or endorse a

commercial product or service for promotional purposes. However, in October 2019, the NCAA

voted to grant collegiate student-athletes the opportunity to profit from their identity, however, the rule will not be in effect until 2023, at its earliest iteration (Almasy, Sterling & Barajas,

2019). The future of amateur athletics will experience an unprecedented change, and consequently, student-athletes at both the high school and collegiate levels, will be exposed to a whole new world of marketing, sponsorship, and endorsement opportunities. In all, the growing social phenomenon surrounding high school athletics and competing student-athletes calls for a field-wide communication plan that promotes personal growth of the student-athletes and economic growth of the high school athletic programs.

Personal growth will be measured by an increased social following, while economic growth will be measured by revenue generated from personal and organizational branding efforts. For the purpose of this study, the measurement of revenue gained, will mirror that of the video sharing platform YouTube. Advertisements, corporate sponsorships, merchandise sales, and fan donations are the four ways to earn revenue on the service. From the personal brand perspective, YouTube video producers earn between $3 and $10 per 1,000 social media engagements (O’Connell, 2018). Thus, as a video producer grows its audience, more money will be generated by the viewers engagements. Likewise, student-athletes in the near future, can expect to earn more or less revenue than their competitors based on their popularity on social platforms, including YouTube, which is the second most visited website after Google (Smith,

2020).

Juxtaposed, from an organizational brand perspective, high schools can look to

YouTube’s corporate sponsorship model. In this model, video producers have to hit a quota of viewers, usually 10,000, before qualifying for sponsorship opportunities (O’Connell, 2018).

Similarly, Instagram has a “swipe up” widget for its “Stories” feature on business accounts that

have greater than 10,000 followers (Darma, 2020). Through the application of YouTube’s

business structure in high school sports, the student-athletes will be rewarded for their athletic abilities and brand popularity. Along the same line, the schools will be rewarded on their abilities to generate content, promote their brand, and sell merchandise.

This proposed study is designed to advance the athletic communications field by constructing a unique plan that will: 1) build the personal brand and identity for high school student-athletes; 2) and build the organizational brand of high schools to present sponsorship and partnership opportunities. The research questions that will be asked in this project will be derived from a literature review that analyzes the impact of personal and organizational brand-building processes and their relations to sports.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This literature review aims to provide background on personal and organizational branding, and the application of brand identity in the modern-day setting. Social media is a valuable tool in regards to personal branding; thus, this review will provide insights into the impact of social media in the personal brand building process. Lastly, in relation to athletics, this review will examine how athletes build their brands and how it relates to their overall brand equity.

Personal Branding

Originally coined in the 1997 article, “The Brand Called You,” by Tom Peters, a personal brand is what makes an individual marketable in the “Individual Age” (Peters, 1997). However, in an updated review of the concept, Paul S. Busch and Scott W. Davis (2018) define a personal brand as an individual’s reputation and unique image. A personal brand can be a crucial differentiator in today’s hyper-competitive job market. Busch and Davis presented an evidence- based approach to developing the self-awareness component of a personal brand, and provided an analysis on the impact of the Gallup Clifton StrengthFinder 2.0 and 360Reach assessments.

The StrengthFinder 2.0 assessment is designed to identify one’s personal strengths, while the

360Reach allows individuals who know the person well (family, friends, supervisors, and coworkers) to do the assessments to formulate a cumulative intrinsic and extrinsic personal brand

(Busch & Davis, 2018).

In the authors’ review of personal branding literature, three important components are emphasized to provide greater intel to the process of brand building. The first element is

“Dimensions of Brand Personality,” which states that the personalities are developed through human characteristics, symbolism, and time. Secondly, the authors examine “Establishing the

Human Brand,” which argues that intrinsic and extrinsic cues are the determining factors in shaping a candidate’s brand image. Intrinsic factors can include an individual’s grade-point average and prior leadership roles, while extrinsic cues can include the reputation of an individual’s alma mater and previous employers (Busch & Davis, 2018). Lastly, “Brand

Mantra,” is established as a necessary element in brand-building process. A brand mantra is a short, three-to-five-word phrase that captures an individual’s characteristics and actions in relation to their perceived brand (Busch & Davis, 2018).

To examine the effects of the assessments and their roles in the personal brand-building process, Busch and Davis (2018) surveyed 35 graduate students and 81 undergraduate students.

The results from Gallup Clifton StrengthFinder 2.0, in which students were tasked to create a personal branding statement that included the following elements -- value/benefits (an individual’s worth to an organization), differentiation, and target market -- over 90% of the graduate and undergraduate students said the assignment help them become more self-aware.

In relation to the study that Busch and Davis (2018) recorded, Gujarathi and Kulkarni

(2018) examine personal branding perceptions through intentions. In this circumstance, intention is defined as “an antecedent to motivation for performing an action and precedent to a desired outcome i.e. the behavior” (p.210). The authors highlighted the significance of self-exploration in personal branding efforts, which states the alignment of the external-internal perceptions results in a truer, more-congruent personal brand. Additionally, the researchers add that social media provides a new opportunity for individuals to spread their personal brand in a more- precise manner. “The new combination for personal branding becomes who and what all you

know, along with how and how fast you share the information, insights and knowledge”

(Gujarathi & Kulkarni, 2018, p.210). The authors’ presentation of personal branding is commonly applied to the workplace, however for this research study, the authors’ findings can be applied to the student-athlete in the high school ranks.

Personal Branding and Social Media

To further understand the impact of personal branding and “how it pays off,” especially in the realm of social media, authors Deva Rangarajan, Betsy D. Gelb, and Amy Vandaveer

(2017) strive to help individuals overcome personal branding challenges within social channels.

To simplify one’s branding efforts, the authors designed a “Personal Brand Building” model to connect the elements of one’s desired personal brand, current personal brand, and employer fit in relation to a target audience. See Figure 1. Defined as the “who I am” variables, one’s desired personal brand is what an individual aspires to be, while the current personal brand represents the individual’s present status quo, and the employee brand fit determines if one’s personal brand aligns with an employer’s brand.

Once an individual compares each component of the “who I am” variables, they can then proceed to the “gap analysis” stage of the model. The authors describe the “gap” as the difference between what an individual believes their brand to be versus external perceptions of their personal brand. If one finds a discrepancy between the internal and external perceptions of their brand, then the individual will need to conduct a change in behavior to achieve their desired personal brand goals. According to Rangarajan, Gelb, and Vandaveer (2017), the behavioral changes can touch on easy fixes such as attire changes, or larger issues like trustworthiness. This process is referred to as the “personal brand reformulation strategy” (p.660). However, if no

perceived gap exists, then one should continue to uphold their current personal brand and monitor its performance in relation to the targeted audience.

Once one determines the behavioral changes necessary (if applicable) to achieve their desired personal brand, they will proceed to the “tactical implementation” phase of the personal brand-building process. The final stage of the model sees the individual “devise tactics that will expose a personal brand to desired audiences or marketplaces” (Rangarajan, Gelb & Vandaveer,

2017, p. 660). Finally, the authors state that social media offers “obvious channels” for one to expose their personal brands to desired audiences (p.660).

Figure 1: Personal Brand Building

(Rangarajan, Gelb & Vandaveer, 2017, p.660)

Building off the exposure of one’s personal brand on social media, it is important to emphasize the role social media plays in the current business of recruiting and hiring. “In 2013, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that 77% of human resource professionals accessed social media websites for recruitment purposes. In 2015, 80% of organizations used social media to search for potential job candidates” (Hood, Robles, &

Hopkins, 2014, p.36). As recruiters are using social media more frequently in looking for job

candidates and employees, the sports industry is undergoing a similar transition at the amateur

levels of competition.

Personal Branding in Sports

As expressed, the construction of the personal brand can be advanced through the use of

social media. Utilizing the element that combines a multitude of platforms, messages, and

followers, social media plays an integral role in the development of branding objectives for elite

athletes at the professional and collegiate levels. A social media presence also has become a necessity in the ranks of amateur athletics, specifically in high school basketball in the United

States. Juxtaposed to its collegiate counterpart, social media and communication efforts at the high school level are not as developed, a common byproduct of financial resources. According to

a 2018 online article titled, “The Instagram Stars of High-School Basketball,” by Taylor Lorenz,

the social media culture surrounding elite-level high school basketball players is affecting their

collegiate potential. “Coaches spend hours scouring social media for kids like [Mac] McClung,

and platforms like Twitter and Instagram have allowed them to cast their net far more broadly.

Coaches used to have to visit smaller markets or watch local tournaments to find a diamond in

the rough. Now they pay attention to who is gaining traction online” (Lorenz, 2018, para. 31).

To assist in the realm of athletics and social media, author Andrea N. Geurin (2016),

developed seven guidelines for athletes to follow when using social media as a form of personal

marketing. The strategic plan tasks the athletes to determine their objectives, identify the

intended social media audiences (in the case of high school athletes they would be collegiate or

professional basketball teams), understand what your competitors are doing, pinpoint key

messages, choose your social platform, build a content plan, and evaluate your social media use

(Geurin, 2016).

While rudimentary for communication scholars, one cannot underemphasize the

importance of the steps Geurin provides. The steps provide a quick and effective way to develop

personal brand-building strategy for social media. Of note, there is not a clear social media

platform to choose, and one should not become complacent with a single social media service in

this constantly evolving Digital Age (Geurin, 2016). In short, Geurin’s (2016) steps advise the athlete or brand manager to meet the audience where they are, not the other way around.

To provide further background to the personal brand-building processes for athletes,

Marie‐Agnès Parmentier and Eileen Fischer (2012) examined how international soccer sensations David Beckham and Ryan Giggs each constructed unique personal brands. To analyze each players’ brand, the authors conducted a content analysis on website engagement, periodical articles, and social media postings between Beckham and Giggs. A model they devised examined

the relationships between one’s professional image and media persona, which ultimately ties into

the overall personal brand equity of the athlete. “Brand equity is a function of the degree to

which an audience has familiarity and favourable associations with a brand” (p.108).

See Figure 2.

Figure 2: How Athletes Build Their Brands

(Parmentier & Fischer, 2012, p.119)

The first variable in achieving personal brand equity is “professional image” (Parmentier

& Fischer, 2012). An athlete's professional image is broken into two sub-categories, specialization and selecting high-status playing opportunities. Specialization is the process of becoming proficient in a special skill set, which allows one to stand-out from their teammates and competitors. The additional professional image subcategory refers to an athlete seeking the highest level or biggest stage in which to compete. High-status playing opportunities allow the athlete to become more recognizable in the public setting.

The second variable of personal brand equity is an athlete’s “media persona.” The media persona is also composed of two subcategories, publicly visible persona cues and enhancing end- consumer awareness (Parmentier & Fischer, 2012). Publicly visible persona cues refer to an athlete’s in-competition personality and how it is utilized to help fodder stories generated by the media. The authors explain that the process of enhancing end-consumer awareness, in relation to building a media persona, is not always done through the athlete's sport. “In order for a media persona to emerge, it is essential that a broad general audience, not just sports fans, have some

familiarity with an athlete’s name” (p.116). This can be achieved through charitable work or

work within another industry, such as fashion or entertainment.

To conclude, the authors found that “a strong professional image alone can yield

considerable brand equity for an athlete, even without the benefit of a mainstream media

persona. Equally, it seems implausible that an athlete could develop significant brand equity

without a strong professional image” (Parmentier & Fischer, 2012, p.117).

Organizational Branding

Building off the individual component of branding, this review will analyze the

organizational effects of branding in relation to employee recruitment and retention, and

commercial marketability. An organizational brand, often interchanged with the term “corporate identity,” is the “what” or “essence” of an organization (Devereux, Melewar, & Foroudi, 2017).

Great organizational brands are driven by a clear sense of purpose, which does not change easily based on a consumer’s reactions (O’Keefe, 2015). In relation to amateur athletics, the high school will be perceived as the organization, while the student-athletes and coaches will be akin to the employees. To see how high school basketball teams rank among each other in terms of organizational branding, there will be a comparison between an established school and an

emerging school.

Very few high school basketball programs have the long-standing basketball pedigree of

Oak Hill Academy. Nestled in the mountains of Southwest Virginia, the Oak Hill Academy

Warriors have been instrumental in shaping the careers of National Basketball Association

(NBA) All-Stars such as Jerry Stackhouse, Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant. In the past ten

seasons, the Warriors have earned five 40-win seasons and two national championships

(oakhillhoops.com, 2020). In addition to their winning ways, the school’s appearance on the

national stage has served as a valuable recruiting tool for prospective players.

“’It was my first time out there on the national stage, being exposed to the highest level of talent,’” said 2015 NBA Most Valuable Player Kevin Durant on his experience at Oak Hill.

“‘That experience catapulted me. Being isolated up there gave me a laser focus. It’s in the middle of nowhere, but the family environment really helped me. It was an amazing experience (Danois,

2016, para. 43).’”

Quite simply, the Oak Hill brand is built on its winning history, in which the program has dubbed itself as the “House of Champions” (oakhillhoops.com, 2020). Juxtaposed, the

Academy’s tagline is “The Turning Point,” as the preparatory academy provides the educational and athletic opportunities for students to succeed in the collegiate ranks (Oak-Hill.net, 2020). On their faces, the slogans are seemingly different, but together they combine to form the school’s brand identity of success in both the classroom and on the sports field or court. In the eyes of the public, Oak Hill’s brand, like reputable organizations in the business sector, is established through its consistent behaviors and committed actions (winning) (O’Keefe, 2015). However, in recent years, newly established high schools are rising to compete with the old guard.

In cases like Prodigy Prep Academy, which was formed in 2019 by Jamie Newman, the school is designed to provide a high-level of education and athletic opportunities to its students.

Building off of their show “Hello Newmans,” which airs exclusively on Overtime.tv, Prodigy

Prep is a pioneer in the Social Media Age of high school athletics (Overtime, 2020). Newman’s son, Julian, is one of the most followed high school basketball players in the country with

785,000 Instagram followers (Newman, n.d.), despite not ranking among ESPN’s 100 high- school basketball players for the Class of 2020 (ESPN.com, 2020). In comparison to Oak Hill

Academy, Julian Newman’s social following is greater than the entire Warrior’s 2019-20

basketball roster combined.1

Social Media in Organizational Branding

“The Instagram Stars of High-School Basketball,” by Taylor Lorenz, shows how social media transformed how coaches, schools and fans view high school basketball. In addition to providing information to its stakeholders, social platforms serve as a source of entertainment and interaction. As a result, it is paramount to understand how schools and their basketball programs alike can utilize social media as an avenue to enhance and project their brand identity to a national audience.

A school or basketball program must address whether or not social media would be

beneficial as a communication and commercial tool. An organization’s decision to utilize or not

utilize social media exemplifies two common messages (Devereux, Melewar & Foroudi, 2017).

When an organization chooses to be active on social media, it is opening itself to communicate

with its stakeholders. Juxtaposed, when an organization chooses to be not active on social media,

it can send the message of being laissez-faire in regards to news pertaining to their industry

or organization.

In the organizational setting, a company may utilize its employees’ social followings to

promote the overarching identity and culture of the organization (Devereux, Melewar & Foroudi,

2017). This action can also be referred to as employer branding, which is defined as “the package

1 The Instagram followers of Delany Heard (@delaney.heard1), Jamari Sibley (@jamarisibley), KK Robinson @khal2n), Jalen Ricks (@iamjricks3), Jalen Reed (@whois.jreed), Emmanuel Okpomo (@emmanuelojohnson1132), Darrick Jones Jr. (@kingjones23_), Cam Thomas (cam._thomas), and Bradley Ezewiro (@bbradd), were cumulatively added to analyze followings (n.d.). 17

of functional, economic and psychological benefits provided by employment, and identified with the employing company” (Vasavada-Oza & Bhattacharjee, 2016, p.10).

In the employee and employer scenario for high school athletics, Oak Hill Academy, like other elite-level basketball schools, does not have a social media account dedicated to its athletics programs. Rather, the Academy’s athletics social presence is represented through its players and coaches. Warriors Head Coach Steve Smith has Twitter and Instagram accounts to promote its basketball program, in addition to sharing news about his personal life and opinions.

Likewise, nine of the 11 Oak Hill basketball players are active on Instagram.

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH QUESTIONS & METHODS

Research Questions

Based on the literature review, the following research questions were formulated.

R1: To what extent does social media enhance the brand-building process, for both individuals and the high schools and colleges?

R2: How can quality of personal brand affect recruitment? R3: To what extent does the high school control an individual athlete’s brand? R4: In an attempt to grow the personal brand, will conflict arise between the individual athlete and sports team?

Research Methods In order to construct a communications plan to be used and modified for high school

athletics, in-depth interviews with branding and communication professionals, athletic administrators, athletes, and other sports-related experts and/or employees were conducted. This process was the primary form of research for this project. Brand managers/directors, athletic communication employees, higher education professors were categorized as “branding and communication professionals.” General managers, coaches, head and/or associate athletic directors were categorized as “athletic administrators.” Past and present collegiate and/or sport competitors were categorized as “athletes.” The remaining interviewees will specify their field of expertise or knowledge and were categorized as “other.” In total, 10 in-depth interviews were collected from the provided categories.

Each interviewee was provided with an explanation of the interview process and what

was to be expected by the interviewer’s questions. Subsequently, the individual was given the

opportunity to decline any question and/or end the interview at any time. Each interview was

recorded by an electronic recording device upon the interviewee’s consent. To ensure audio and interview security, each file was saved and stored on password-protected devices. The interviewer subsequently transcribed each interview and analyzed common and/or recurring themes. The themes and concepts that the interviewers identified as significant served as a basis of discussion for the research project. In full confidentiality, each interviewee’s identity is not presented in the research; instead the investigator utilized pseudonyms and/or generalizable labels like “communications professional” to ensure the individual’s privacy. At the conclusion of the interview process, the interviewee was given the opportunity to provide suggestions on the topic and was able to ask interviewer follow-up questions.

In-Depth Interviews

In a historical context, in-depth or long interviews have served as one of the most- powerful qualitative research methods (McCracken, 1988). Unlike a content analysis, the in- depth interview process allows one to explore the emotions and human elements that would otherwise be absent. Likewise, an in-depth interview allows one to inquire and probe for question that are spontaneously spurred in the interview. For the purpose of this research project, each interview was guided by an interview protocol. The protocol briefed the interviewee about the interview process and how their responses would be utilized in the construction of the communications plan.

Additionally, the protocol contained a series of questions pertaining to the subject matter.

Using a semi-structured interview guide (See Appendix A 1.1), questions were constructed before the interviews took place. The semi-structured interview process allows the interviewer to ask questions out-of-order, and probes might or may not be used based on the interviewee’s responses. To identify the key and common themes of an interview, the interviewer must listen

intently to the interviewee (McCracken, 1988.) Among the things the interviewer should listen to is impression management, topic avoidance, deliberate distortion, minor misunderstanding, and incomprehension (McCracken, 1988). Impression management can be displayed by the interviewee’s reaction to a question or discussion, topic avoidance is when the interviewee does not want to answer a question(s) pertaining to a specific subject. Deliberate distortion is when the interviewee only shares a portion of the answer accurately, minor misunderstanding can occur when the interviewee does not recognize the presented question(s). Incomprehension occurs when the interviewee does not understand what is asked by the interviewer. Throughout the process the interviewer should be the conductor of the conversation, all while providing the interviewee the room to respond and converse (McCracken, 1988).

In all, the in-depth interview process allowed interviewees to express their knowledge on the subject matter and to make suggestions for improvement within the communication field for high school sports. The findings of these interviews are detailed in the next chapter.

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS

Introduction This section presents findings from the project’s ten semi-structured interviews, which featured professionals in athletic communications, student-athletes, and other related sporting experts. Then add a sentence about what the leading themes are as a transition to them.

Social Media Within Sports

The first section of questions asked in the semi-structured interviews were in relation to the role of social media within sports. Each interviewee was asked about the type of social platforms that are most commonly used in an athletic setting, the role of social media metrics and its relation to social media content produced, emerging social media platforms, and the effect that social media has on the student-athlete’s recruitment process. Unanimously, athletic communication professionals said that the main purpose of social media in the collegiate setting was to recruit prospective athletes. Additionally, one interviewee proposed that social media in athletics should not only be utilized as a recruiting tool, but also used by ticket offices in an effort to understand the ticket buyers’ likes and dislikes. Each topic in regards to social media will be identified in the following subsections, and highlights from the interviews will accompany the topic.

Most Used Social Media Platforms for Athletic Teams and Organizations

Interviewees were asked about the types of social media platforms that were most commonly used in the organizational (team) and individual (student-athletes) settings. In total, six athletic communication professionals at the collegiate and professional athletic levels expressed that two social media platforms, Instagram and Twitter, stood out among the rest in the promotion of an athletic organization and/or team.

“Our primary team platforms were Twitter and Instagram. Twitter because of its

ease of use for audiences of all ages, and the basically zero-barrier entry for those

[users]. There’s a technical requirement to become an effective user of Instagram – I

think, that isn’t required by Twitter. As long as you know how to use a smart-phone and

download an app you can use Twitter. – Athletic Communications Professional #2

Instagram is a social media platform that is composed of visual components, such as pictures and videos. While there is an option to incorporate a caption to a post on Instagram, text is a secondary element on the platform. Juxtaposed, Twitter is a social media platform that is both text and visual reliant. Originally, a Twitter user was allowed 140 unique characters per post, however, in 2017, the platform changed their guidelines and increased the character count to 280 (Larson, 2017). With an increased textual component, users are allowed to provide more depth to their postings, and can incorporate an image, video, or gif if they chose.

Each athletic communications professional in the collegiate setting noted that Instagram and Twitter were more widely used than Facebook in the recruiting process. While Facebook is still utilized by the sports teams, it has and will continue to receive less attention by an athletic program.

“I would say the biggest thing about Twitter and Instagram – I lump them

together a lot just because they’re similar in what we are trying to do. Our demographic

uses Twitter and Instagram…the general audience that I am trying to target simply isn’t

on Facebook. Facebook is very significant for certain content. If I want to post a game

recap from [athletic website], that should be going on Facebook.” – Athletic

Communications Professional 1

In agreement, a fellow athletic communications professional expressed that Facebook is a platform that is useful for certain types of content and audiences. Additionally, this individual noted that Facebook should not be discarded in organization’s social media plan.

“I’ll use Instagram and Twitter mostly. Facebook I kind of use for the ‘big stuff.’

That’s where a lot of the parents [of student-athletes] are, so they like it, and they

comment in a way – I don’t know, it [Facebook] reaches a different demographic, so I

don’t ignore it. But it is also not my first priority.” – Athletic Communications

Professional 3

Another athletic communications professional noted that Instagram has become two separate platforms for posting, with the addition of Instagram Stories in 2016 (Constine, 2016).

The “Stories” function of Instagram allows a user to create time-sensitive posts that highlight

one’s travels, experiences and more, with the assistance of filters and in-app widgets. The

athletic communication professional’s analysis was the only one to view Instagram as a dual-

platform, while the others viewed it as linear. Through the communicator’s opinion, Instagram

and Instagram Stories function as two separate platforms because of the stark differences in the

themes and tones in a user’s postings.

“Instagram, I would really say – the way things have evolved on Instagram is really two different platforms now. It’s a post, which can be somewhat heavily edited video component, and then there’s the ‘Stories’ function. Which I think effectively is a separate form of communication, because I think the messaging, the stylized nature of the two [Instagram and ‘Stories’] can be completely different. You’re reaching different audiences and you’re reaching the same audiences that like to consume things differently.” – Athletic Communications Professional 2

Juxtaposed to collegiate athletic setting, a communicator in professional athletics indicated that their organization’s social media usage was not only dependent on the overarching messaging of the team, but also the players who make up the team. For example? the

interviewee noted that his organization had tailored social media content around an international

player’s native language and designed content that would be better received in that country.

Additionally, the interviewee noted that organizational branded YouTube and TikTok accounts

were becoming more and more prevalent in the profession, but the communicator also stated that

there is no tangible usage for TikTok at the moment. For reference, TikTok is a short-form video

platform that is predominantly popular among 18-24 year olds in the United States (Sehi, 2020).

Instead, the professional sports league is emphasizing the social media platform to reach a

younger audience.

Social Media Metrics

The second series of questions under social media focused on the metrics that

communication professionals utilized to report their social media growth and to develop strategic

social media plans for sport team(s). Each athletic communications professional was asked to

specify which data-collection services they used, if any, and how they measured “success” in

their social media efforts. The five collegiate communication professionals said that they utilized

the in-platform metrics, such as Twitter Analytics, to monitor the performance of a team(s) social

media content. The communicator in professional sports said that the professional league

monitored the metrics and fan engagement, thus, the interviewee’s goal was to produce “quality

content” regardless of the metrics.

Interestingly, the collegiate athletic communication professionals also stated that there is

not a steadfast formula to show the monetary value of social media to an athletic department

and/or organization. Rather, the professionals monitored and measured analytics from an internal

perspective. They said that the best way to determine social media performance was to compare internal metrics on annual basis for an individual sports organization and/or team. As a result, the

communicators did not compare social media metrics to rival organizations or individuals.

“The metrics aren't particularly helpful. I find the most value regardless of the

size of the account. In comparing the past to present. So, it's not, ‘How did this post do

vs. Duke post or N.C. State post or Florida post or Stanford post? It was a ‘how did this

post do relative to a similar post last week, last year?’ So, you're able to sort of monitor

your own growth because there's a variety of factors that are going to lead to big

differences in engagement numbers across pools and programs in the same way that it

doesn't make sense for me to compare the women's soccer metrics to the basketball

metrics. It doesn't make sense for me to compare men’s soccer to the women's soccer.

The most valuable analysis comes from women's soccer versus women’s soccer. That was

primarily what I was doing.” – Athletic Communications Professional #2

Similarly, another professional said that they, too, only monitor the internal performance

of their social postings, rather than comparing them to other teams in an athletic department or

athletic rivals. However, despite the lack of structure or current strategic usage of social media

metrics in the sport setting, some athletic communicators believe the data will help them become

more purposeful in their social media postings and content creation going forward.

“None of us have the time to really dive into those numbers yet. It's a resource-

based challenge. I pay attention to where we're at, and I try to be smart about when we

post. I try to be strategic in it based on research that has been done by professionals,

both in general and then some of the information I received from our previous Director

of Social Media. There are strategies and things that we can be utilizing to increase our

engagement, and take advantage the algorithms on those platforms. I just don't have time

to sit and study at this point. I need somebody to dictate that to us, and we have that role,

which is great, that will come, but that will advance our social media strategy greatly. If

you're not using analytics and you're just playing blind, then you're not taking advantage

as much as you can, but there has to be somebody specific in that world.” – Athletic

Communications Professional #4

One communicator said that they were hiring a Director of Social Media for its athletics program to address social media metrics and strategy. This came as a resource-based need, as other staff members were not able to delegate the time and energy to understand and translate the social media data into a tangible plan for the future.

In all, between the six communication professionals, it was clear that social media metrics, while important to track, are difficult to correlate to the overall monetary purpose of an athletics programs. While there is not a steadfast formula to determine the ever-arbitrary

“success,” they believe there is something to be said about follower growth and engagement rate.

Multiple professionals said that followers are easy to showcase to a coach or athletic department,

and engagement rate speaks to the positive and negative reactions of social media content.

However, in 2019, the California Senate passed Bill 206, which permits collegiate student-

athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness beginning in 2023 (Kim, 2019). In

response, the NCAA, which opposed the bill at first, is revising their rules to allow all student- athletes the ability to profit from their name, image and likeness. Thus, social media metrics could hold more monetary value from an individual’s perspective, but further research would need to be conducted to see the after-effects of the NCAA’s new rules.

Outside of the athletic communications realm, a sport-ticket sales expert indicated that

social media metrics and user? habits provide an opportunity for athletic programs to understand

their target audiences better.

“A lot of times we're making cold calls, where we have to a name, and a number where

we can call them or contact them and find out if they're interested in buying tickets. If we use

social [media] to warm up those leads, like learn more about who that person is before we make

that contact, we can have a far higher success rate and be more efficient in what we do. So, to

use it, to like gather information about who would likely buy tickets, who's most interested in our

product, I think that's a great way to use social [media].” – Ticket Sales Expert

Student-Athlete’s Using Social Media

The last set of questions under social media addressed the student-athlete’s usage of social platforms. Four past-and-present student-athletes, and five athletic communication

professionals were asked about the liberties and precautions that come with a student-athlete’s

individual social media account(s). The athletes who were interviewed participated in NCAA

Division I and Division III athletics. Each athlete was asked whether or not they were allowed to

post freely on social media, or if their team and/or athletics program applied restrictions to

protect both the individual and organizational brands. Some athletic programs, such as Clemson

University’s football program and the University of Connecticut’s women’s basketball program,

implement seasonal bans on student-athlete’s social media accounts (Kimes, 2015).

Three out of four athletes said that they were able to post on social media without

restrictions and/or team regulations since becoming a collegiate athlete. An NCAA Division I

athlete said their communications department told the athletes that they could post as if they were ordinary students, but also advised them to not “post anything that you wouldn’t want your mother or grandmother to see.” The NCAA Division III student-athlete said that no social media guidelines were provided to any of the school’s sports programs.

One athlete who indicated that they were not able to post on social media with complete freedom, said that their team, not the athletics department, dictated the type of content that could be posted on their social media feeds. In this interview, the athlete said that the coaches, who follow each member of the team on social media, advised the players to not post anything that contains offensive language, alcohol, and revealing clothing.

“If you have poor social media habits at a young age, I mean, obviously, if you do

some things that are kind of over the top, you know that it could hurt you. But we've seen

also the cautionary tales of some of the guys that are getting drafted [in the National

Football League]. Then their accounts are getting scrubbed way back to middle school,

about things they've said, things they've done, things they've Tweeted.” – Athletic

Communications Professional #4

In an attempt to protect their social-media privacy from the coaching staff, one student- athlete said that their teammates created pseudo-accounts, in which they could post without

violating the team’s social media policies. Student-athletes who did not have the same concern for privacy protection turned their personal Instagram accounts into business profiles. By having a business profile on Instagram, they are able to see an audience’s age, gender and the time of day in which the user’s followers are most active.

From the communications perspective, communicators said that the best way to assist student-athletes in their social media habits is to inform the individual about the best practices and strategies, rather than discouraging to use the communication forums as a whole. By knowing the positives and negatives of social media, student-athletes can make better -- smarter -

- decisions, while being restraint-free from their athletic organization or team. However, in this

digital age, social media posts live on forever, even when the individual deletes posts from the

feed. As a result, one professional said that it is important to be conscious about the message and

content before posting, because a social media posting can live on after being deleted.

So, if you don't think it matters, it does and you can think you can delete it, but

nothing is ever deleted. So, you know, you just gotta be mindful of what you want people

to think of you, because once they followed you and you have a public account, that's

what we’re gonna think of you. Like it or not. The disappointing thing for me is when we

try to coach young men and they don't they understand why it [social media] matters.

You continue to explain to them that every little thing matters as you're trying to become

drafted, or every little thing can come up as a reason to not trust you with an

organization's money, and they don't quite grasp it.” – Athletic Communications

Professional #4

In all, social media in the sports setting is regulated on a case-by-case, sport-by-sport, athlete-by-

athlete, and team-by-team basis. Student-athletes are more times than not, allowed to maintain

their accounts with little oversight. But they get advice for best practices from their athletic department and coaches.

Social Media Affecting Student-Athlete Recruiting

The third series of questions asked under social media addressed whether or not a

student-athlete’s social media postings affected their ability to be recruited. Three present-and-

former collegiate athletes and six communication professionals were asked about the role social

media played in a student-athlete’s recruiting process. Student-athletes, compared to their fellow

classmates, expressed the idea that they receive more attention on social media and other

communication platforms because of their athletic status. One athlete said that the social media

did not affect their ability to be recruited, but social media did play a huge role in setting the

team culture. In this conversation, the individual said that their coaches did not actively monitor

an athlete’s social media postings prior to joining the team. However, once a member of the

team, the student-athletes were followed be team personnel (assistant coaches, trainers, and

others) and were provided the team’s policies in regards to social media. The policies dictated

what type of content that was and was not permitted, which aligned with the head coach’s team

values and culture perception.

In addition, athletic communication professionals said that they had not personally seen

social media negatively affect a student-athlete’s recruiting process. This meant that prior to

competing in the collegiate ranks, student-athlete’s social media postings, good or bad, did not

play a major role in the ability to join a team. This question is addressed in greater detail in the

“Discussion” section.

Branding in Athletics

The second set of questions pertained to the role of branding and brand construction in the sports setting. This section looks at both team and individual athlete branding.

Team Branding

As expressed in the literature review, great organizational brands have a clear sense of purpose, which establishes the essence of the company. Thus, what constitutes a successful team brand in the sports setting? Is it performance-based? Is it an extraordinary athlete, recognizable coach, or extensive alumni network? To answer these inquiries, five communications professionals from collegiate athletics were interviewed. Throughout the conversations, two terms kept popping up: “organic” and “coach involvement.”

Organic, in regards to branding is the natural production of a brand identity without paying for advertising or any other promotional materials (Katkar, 2017). In the athletic setting, terms like “winning” and “hard-working,” can be utilized in the brand-building process. Other slogans and identifiers come from fan followings and the teams as well. One interviewee recalled a season-long slogan generated by the members of a football team.

“…the slogan of ‘Got Your Back’ came organically from the team, and that was player

driven in that they are the ones who came up with it. It was their mantra. Then we sort of

adopted it for the for a wider audience. It just felt like some programs, the coach, you

know, every year they've got a, ‘This is our theme for the year.’ It may not be a hashtag,

but this is what we're about this year.” – Athletic Communication Professional #2

While team-oriented slogans and brand identifiers arise from the locker room, other branding tactics come from a team’s competitive success, notable athletic achievements and school-wide inclusion.

“It’s certainly the success on the court winning, dominating at times. But then it's

also like the [School] family, which is big with a lot of our gurus. You know, [Coach]

prides himself on never having a single player ever transfer away from his program. It's

pretty nice to say in this day and age. So, I think those what you could call pillars of the

program, you sort of build your sort of strategy out. I'd say that's probably we've [the

coaching staff] had some conversations directly about it, but a lot of it I think it's just sort

of grows organically off of just being around the program.” – Athletic Communications

Professional #5

As apparent in the previous quote, in addition to the organic production of an

organizational/team brand, coaching staffs for athletic sports teams are almost always involved

in the brand-building process. A coach is a figurehead, the leader of the recruiting process and a

point of contact, all important in amateur athletics. A team’s brand image and identity can be a make-or-break factor for a prospective student-athlete; thus, it is crucial for coaches to share an equal amount of input with the communications professional. Whether it be a slogan or the color pallets used in promotional materials, a coach’s involvement in the brand-building process can be multifaceted.

“Well, in my particular instance, the head coach is the one driving what he wants. He's

giving us catch phrases, he's giving us direction. He's giving us understanding of what he

wants the program vibe to be, and then it's our job to kind of collaborate and land on the

actual execution of it.” – Athletic Communications Professional #4

However, while it is integral to incorporate the coach’s vision into the brand identity of the sports team, interviewees believe a communicator needs to be able to reject a coach’s ideas and propose alternative solutions to create a strong brand identity. One interviewee shared that their coach proposed many ideas in the brand creation process, but were not always universally accepted by the communications staff and athletics department, even if the coach is not explicitly told “no.”

“I think the biggest thing I've learned is that if your coach asks you for something, the

only unacceptable answer is ‘no’. Never tell your coach no. If they if they want

something, I don't care how crazy it is…You never say no because your job is to be here

and help them build their voice. If they tell me that they want to take a picture of the

whole team on top of the water tower, I know in my head, the answer is no. However, I

have to provide him with a with a good alternative and tell him that, no, we cannot go on

top of the water tower. But I can't just say no. So, I always have to have something ready.

You know, if my coach asks me something that I don't think is a good idea, I'd better be

able to propose an alternative, because that's our job is to be proposing content ideas.”

Individual Branding

An individual’s brand, also known as a personal brand, is an individual’s reputation and

unique image. In today’s hyper-competitive job market, a personal brand is crucial to stand out

to a recruiting employer (Busch & Davis, 2018). Likewise, in a hyper-competitive sports setting, student-athletes are asked to rise above their peers from an early age. As showcased in the literature review, an athlete’s brand is constructed from two key variables, the athlete’s image and media persona. Together, the components form the athlete’s brand equity (Parmentier &

Fischer, 2012). See Figure 2.

In an attempt to address the individual brand-building process in sports, two NCAA

Division I student-athletes, from separate universities, were asked questions about their intentional brand-building efforts, as well as about personal observations of their teammates branding efforts. The first student-athlete noted that personal branding was not important to them. Rather, the personal brand in this case was a byproduct of the individual’s athletic

performance. The athlete added that they did not use social media much, but had teammates who utilized the communication channels as a personal branding tool. For example, this participant had a teammate who utilized their athletic status to promote their culinary work, and ultimately became a professional in the food industry.

The second student-athlete said that they were intentional in their personal-branding efforts. In the participant’s eyes, it was important to be mindful about their personal brand for the present collegiate setting, rather than projecting a desirable profile for professional athletics.

However, in this case, the individual’s sport does not have a well-established professional league. The student-athlete said that their teammates were also intentional in the brand-building process, and referred to the Instagram business profile as a way to monitor their individual branding efforts.

The second student-athlete also shared that their school held annual social media education and etiquette meetings. During these gatherings, social media experts would show the student-athletes the positive and negative attachments associated with social media. In an attempt to scare the athletes, the experts gathered social media posts from student-athlete’s personal accounts and shared the posts as a part of the presentation. The presenters emphasized the ease of social media monitoring, even when the athletes believed their accounts were protected. The interviewed student-athlete believed that this was effective and influential for their personal branding efforts.

The first student-athlete said that their school did not have any social media meetings and rarely communicated with the team’s SID. Additionally, the individual believed that social media education would have been a valuable resource for their team. Instead, the student-athletes said they discovered the best social media habits through trial-and-error.

The individual versus the team

Although individual branding provides student-athletes a number of advantages, it may

also create conflict with the branding efforts of the team. That is, as the growth of the individual

brand in high school athletics continues to expand, will the personal goals outweigh the

objectives of the team?

This question received a mixture of responses. Some interviewees believe that an

individual’s talent will always be greater than their brand, while other interview participants

believed that the increased individual branding efforts could create problems for the team going

forward. Athletic Communications Professional #1 said,

“There's a great risk involved with spotlighting your individuals, and you see some

teams, especially in college athletics, shy away from it altogether because they understand

the risk. They don't allow their student-athletes or their athletes to have too much of a

personality or too much of a brand because they're afraid that's going to stray away from the

entire organization's brand.”

When asked the same question, Athletic Communications Professional #2 disagreed with the thought that branding could outweigh talent at the NCAA Division I level of competition:

“No, because I think at this level we're talking about players, the level of Zion

[Williamson] and Cole [Anthony], and the spotlight on those games is so bright anyways.

What can you do? What you can't do is going to be exposed immediately. They [high school

sports] have not crossed into a level where, like the average sports fans, would sit down to

watch them on a Thursday night. So, you can hide enough with mixtapes and Instagram

highlight packages, that you think [the athlete] is the greatest player ever.”

Other responses indicated that there could be a problem with the increased individualism in collegiate athletics. However, overall, participants did not fear that it would be a serious problem in the near future.

This chapter showcased the findings from the interview process and the following chapter will look into how the interviewees addressed the research questions.

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION

This chapter examines the findings from the interviews based on the research questions previously presented.

Social media and the brand-building process

Research question one asked to what extent does the role of social media play in the

brand-building process for individuals and organizations alike. Nine interviewees answered this

question. To further understand the difference between the individual and brand, four of the

interviewees directly addressed the individual branding process. Subsequently, the remaining

subjects contributed to the understanding of the organizational brand-building process through

social media.

Individual brand building through social media

From an athlete’s perspective, the personal brand-building process through social media

begins with identifying the platform that is best tailored for the individual’s messaging strategy.

Athletic communicators indicated that they assist the student-athletes in the creation of a brand

or mantra. A collegiate communications professional said that they bring student-athletes into

their office and map out the athlete’s brand desires on a whiteboard. In this example, the

communications professional tasked the athletes to list eight traits that the individual wanted to

convey through social media. This notion references back to the “who I am” variables, where

one’s desired personal brand is what an individual aspires to be, while their current personal

brand represents the individual’s present status quo (Rangarajan, Gelb, & Vandaveer, 2017, p.

660). Much like Rangarajan, Gelb, and Vandaveer, the collegiate communications professional would then assess the athlete’s traits and identify the perceived gap between the individual and their desired audience. Once the student-athlete identified the traits that stood out to them the most, the communications professional steered them into the social media channels that were best suited for that individual. In addition, the communications professional helped the student- athlete craft brand messaging through the personal traits. For example, if the individual wanted to showcase his or her volunteerism, then social media postings would incorporate images and messages that promoted the individual’s actions at a local food bank or homeless shelter. This process would be continued until the athlete and communications professional believed that the individual brand is firmly established.

On top of the communications professional’s perspective and branding efforts, student- athletes are also monitoring their social media performance. Athletes said that they went as far as making their Instagram accounts a “business profile.” A business profile on Instagram allows one to have access to the social media post insights including gender, age, impressions, and the time of day when their followers are most active. As a result, athletes indicated that they are tailoring content that will maximize their brand messaging on social media. However, this comes at the expense of privacy, as Instagram business profiles must be public.

A student-athlete added that the majority of their teammates prefer to keep their accounts private to avoid conflict with their coaches and sports organizations. In the past, athletes have been asked to take down social media content that exposes inappropriate messaging such as drinking alcohol, smoking, and revealing clothing. Juxtaposed, another athlete noted that they had regular meetings with their sports information directors (SID) about social media postings.

The student-athlete noted that the SIDs gave the athlete freedom to post as they saw fit on social

media, but always encouraged the athletes not to “post anything that you wouldn’t want your mother or grandmother to see.”

Organizational brand building through social media

The five remaining interviewees, all collegiate communication professionals (sports information directors) addressed questions that pertained to the organizational brand-building process. Through the interviews, two key themes stood out in the organizational brand building process, team performance and coach involvement. Team performance is in reference to the historical success or downfalls of a sports organization, while coach involvement discusses the input of a brand from a head coach or coaching staff.

Communicators said that team performance affected how they built their team’s brand.

Teams that have lackluster results, often have a harder time in producing an organic brand image based on the team’s competitive performance. Juxtaposed, a team that has a strong winning tradition and/or history of producing professional athletes has a more streamlined brand creation process. As a result, social media hashtags and slogans are produced more organically.

Conversely, communicators said that they also? are tasked to generate eye-catching social media content, graphics, and hashtags for sports programs that do not have a winning history. In the collegiate setting, less-notable? sports programs may rely on another sports programs’ success to draw attention to their program. For example, a basketball team might capitalize on the attention surrounding a school’s nationally recognized football program through the attachment of an organizational brand identity. Subsequently, one communications professional noted that they use a university-wide hashtag for their sports team because it allows the lesser-known teams to tag-along with other sports programs successes.

Unanimously, the interviewees said that the coaching staffs were heavily involved in the

brand-building process. From an administration standpoint, social media in collegiate athletics is

viewed as a recruiting tool. One interviewee said, “I think regardless of your personal strategy with any given sport [social media] account, the question of ‘Will this have value to a recruit

almost always has to be considered?’”

Another communications professional added that recruiting dictates the social media platforms that team prioritizes, with Twitter and Instagram dominating. Many coaches devise slogans and/or “pillars of the program.” As a result, communicators are then tasked to create a brand identity with the elements that the coach(es) wish to exemplify. Frequently, communicators incorporate the slogan into each social media posting and graphic image. If a team’s slogan is “Next Man Up,” then graphics would include the term and each social media post would incorporate “#NextManUp.”

Personal brand and recruitment

The second research question addresses whether or not one’s personal brand has

historically affected their ability to be recruited in collegiate athletics. Each interviewee who was

asked this question said that they had not personally seen a student-athlete’s brand adversely

affect their ability to be recruited. This came as a surprise, considering many students are told

about the value of self-representation on social media. Often, high school students are told that

future employers and universities will look at their personal feeds, and will assess whether or not that the person is fit for a role. For example, a student-athlete who participated in this project noted that their pre-college social media postings, as well as their peers’, were spotlighted in a social media education presentation at the beginning of the academic year. The presenters

showcased how easily social media feeds can be accessed and seen by anyone, even if a user makes his or her account private, almost any posting can be accessed. In addition, one’s employee-employer fit is call back to Paul S. Busch’s and Scott W. Davis’s (2018) research around personal branding, in which the researcher’s analyzed college students’ personal brand dimensions in relation to perceived employer fit.

However, most subjects had heard of collegiate programs that had stopped pursuing prospective student-athletes because of their social media postings. One interviewee said that there are cautionary tales for student-athletes on social media, but also said that social media provides the opportunity for them to correct errors and misdoings. Another participant said that they had worked for a school that had an employee audit all in-coming student-athletes’ social media accounts. In this case, the auditor was provided the school’s social media guideline of acceptable and unacceptable posts. If an athlete’s post was flagged as unacceptable, then he or she would have to delete the post from the platform and write a letter to the athletics department explaining their rationale and remorse. However, like the other interviewees’ responses, this participant said that the social media history of prospective student-athletes was never a “make- or-break” factor in the recruitment process. In all, the best way to ensure that social media does not negatively affect one’s recruiting status is to be cautious and thoughtful before posting to a platform.

Dictating student-athlete’s social media postings

The third research question addressed whether or not a sports organization, team, or school/university, has the obligation to dictate what a student-athlete either says or how they act on social media. This question was derived from the notion of employer branding, which is

defined as “the package of functional, economic and psychological benefits provided by employment, and identified with the employing company” (Vasavada-Oza & Bhattacharjee,

2016, p.10). However, student-athletes are not employees, but they do serve a similar function in the branding process, as their reactions, emotions, and statements about the school can either positively or negatively affect the recruiting process.

In all, no interviewee said that a school could not dictate a student-athlete’s social media usage. Some athletic programs, such as the Clemson University football program and the

University of Connecticut’s (UConn) women’s basketball team, have already imposed social media restrictions on its student-athletes. The programs’ policies say that no team member can be active on social media for the entirety of the team’s season. The social media bans have been a subject of criticism for quite some time and have even prompted some to question the legality of keeping non-profiting athletes, not employees, muted (Kimes, 2015).

In lieu of banning the student-athletes from social media, the interview participants proposed a series of ideas and thoughts for athletic programs, coaches and team members. Athletic

Communications Professional #2 emphatically stated that athletic performance is not going to be affected because of social media limitations, because the programs that are imposing the bans,

Clemson and UConn specifically, have historically had success prior to social media. The professional added that there will always be distractions over the course of a sports season, and student-athletes will always find ways to exploit the restrictions. Other interview subjects said that social media guidelines should be developed on a school-by-school basis. Then, student- athletes will have a point of reference and can see what posts are acceptable and unacceptable according to the athletics program and/or school.

Shoot vs. Pass

The fourth research question asked whether the growing significance of personal

branding would create conflicts between individual student-athletes and their sports team. This

question proposed the “shoot vs. pass” scenario to interview participants. That is, would an

individual shoot a basketball if it was in his or her best interest, or would he or she pass the

basketball to help the overall well-being of the team? While some participants expressed concern about increased individualism in collegiate athletes, others said they did not fear that it would be a serious problem in the near future. In some scenarios, an athlete with a strong personal brand might be more recruit-able than an individual who does not have a personal brand; however, this would most likely take place at mid-tier and lower-level NCAA Division I schools.

CHAPTER 6: BRANDING STRATEGY IN AMATEUR ATHLETICS

Introduction

Based on the research findings, this section will provide an overview to social media and

how sports organizations and individual student-athletes may use social media strategically in the

brand-building process. Before an organization or individual creates a branding strategy, it is important to understand the role social media has in the sports setting. The following social

media education section is designed to assist sports organizations in efforts to manage their brand

identity, while also providing suggestions for student-athletes’ social media usage within an

organizational setting.

Social Media Education Reasoning for social media education: As expressed by the interviewed student-athletes

and athletic communication professionals, an understanding of social media is the first step into

building a viable and sustainable branding strategy. Social media education, as some athletes

have experienced, sheds a light on the positive and negative branding elements through an

individual’s social media account(s). In addition, coaches and athletic organizations, in some

instances, are misinformed about the functionality of social media between the student-athlete

and his or her audience. The organization, whether it be a team, coach, or school, needs to

provide the resources necessary for social media education, because it is the only way to ensure

consistency across sports teams and among student-athletes.

In combination, the schools and coaches should be the guiding influences in student-

athletes understanding the power of social media. Coaches are often the main point of contact for

athletes; as a result, coaching staffs should be able to provide social media guidelines that

cooperate with the school’s policies as well as team’s guidelines. Additionally, social media

education in the high school sports setting may be extended to parents and/or guardians to assist

the student-athletes in their social media presence. Thus, in the following subsections, an

organization can find a synopsis of relevant social media platforms, appropriate organizational

tone, and suggestions to monitor student-athletes’ social media usage.

Social Media Platforms Synopsis

To understand social media, one must understand the social media platforms that are

available to an organization’s disposal. Gathered from the interviews, three platforms stand out in the promotion of an athletics program; Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. An organization must be able to distinguish how each platform should be used and the tones that are most acceptable for each audience within that platform. Mistakenly, many sports teams and coaches believe that social media is merely an interpersonal communicative tool, but in reality, social media is great tool to connect with fans, promote products and services, provide information, and share media content. Below is a brief synopsis on the value of each platform for a sports organization’s social media postings. See Figure 3.

Instagram

Founded in 2010, Instagram is a social media platform that specializes in visual

communication (Instagram, 2020). Through the platform, social media users are able to post

either a photo or video to their Instagram feed. In addition, one can post a caption to accompany

the media content. Once the post is published to the feed, followers of the user will be able to see

the media content. The post is permanent when published, and can only be removed by an

authorized user of the Instagram account.

In 2016, Instagram launched Instagram Stories. The Stories function, which is also

accessed through the Instagram platform, allows a user to either post a photo or video, and

broadcast live video feed (Instagram, 2016). Each post is designed to disappear within a 24-hour window on the platform. The live video function has progressed from its original inception, in which only one user could broadcast, to a multi-video feed, which allows multiple users to partake in the same broadcast.

Twitter

Founded in 2006, Twitter is a microblogging social media platform that allows users to

share up to 280 characters of text and/or a media component (Larson, 2017). The social media

posts are called “Tweets” and can be protected through the user’s account settings. In addition to

the textual and media components on the social media platform, hashtags are widely used in

Tweets. Hashtags act as a search engine, when a user accesses a hashtag, then he or she is

directed to a series of Tweets with the same message. For example, if one is to search

#HappyBirthday, then all public Tweets with that tag will appear on the platform. Additionally,

one can create a “thread” of Tweets, which allows a user to chain together messages

chronologically. This is commonly used as a storytelling function by Twitter users.

In the organizational setting, a Twitter account is a common point of reference for

followers, and often is used as a customer relation-like function. By tagging an account’s

username, a follower can have a public and direct conversation with the user, and vice versa.

Facebook

Founded in 2004, Facebook is a social networking platform that is primarily used by

individuals and their personal networks (Facebook, 2020). On Facebook, a user can post, share,

like and comment through their profile’s feed. A feed is composed of the user’s friends and pages that they follow. Unlike Twitter, Facebook does not limit the amount of text in a post.

The platform allows users a variety of posting options:

• Images • Videos • Live Video Broadcasting • Multimedia Posts (Photo and Video in a single post)

In the organizational setting, Facebook, much like an organization’s Twitter profile, is a point of contact for a follower. Followers have the ability to directly message and comment on the organization’s wall. The organization itself can post and share relative information with its followers. However, as indicated by the interviews, Facebook is not the primary social media channel for athletic communications.

Figure 3: Social Media Platform Usage Chart

Twitter Instagram Facebook Photos    Videos    Game Updates    Feature Stories    Curated Graphics    Fan Polls    Breaking News    Previews/Recaps   

Social Media Tone

In addition to understanding the functionality of each social media platform, it is subsequently important to use the appropriate brand tones for each platform. A tone can be serious, happy, sad, heartwarming, encouraging, and more. For an athletic organization, knowing

what tone to use is crucial for an organization’s viability on social media. Below is a breakdown of the social media platforms and acceptable tones for each platform.

Instagram • Have fun o Keep posts short, sweet and colloquial • Diversify o Media elements should contain images and/or videos that are not used on other platforms

Facebook and Twitter • Informative o Provide concise information around team events, scores and scores • Engaging o Draft posts that prompt the follower to interact o Respond to faithful fans . Always check the user’s profile before responding to avoid any crisis situations o Don’t engage with internet trolls

Monitoring Student-Athlete’s Social Media Usage

The last section of the organizational social media education deals with the monitoring of an organization’s student-athletes’ social media feeds. An organization does not want a student- athlete to publish a social media post that reflects negatively on the school, team, coach or fellow teammates. However, in many circumstances, student-athletes believe that they are sacrificing freedom when watched closely. Thus, maintaining a healthy relationship between the athlete and organization and/or team is often easier said than done. That does not mean it is not impossible to possess a level of control, but it is important to be mindful of the individuality of each athlete.

Below are some helpful instructions for organizations to follow when monitoring student- athletes’ social media usage:

• Have an assistant or media director who is dedicated to social media

o Assistant coaches are often seen as less-authoritative than the head coach, thus student-athletes are more likely to accept a request to follow

o Coaches can turn on notifications to receive updates when an athlete posts to social media

o Coaches will be educated to spot which posts should be removed from an athlete’s social media feed, thereby reducing the amount of potential

backlash from other social media users

Not only is it important to have an assistant coach or communications director follow a student-athlete on social media, it also is important to influence the student-athletes with the following tools:

• Create a social media guide

o The guide will deem what type of posts will be acceptable and unacceptable

o The guide will specify what type language is expected to be used

o The guide will identify what type of clothing is appropriate or inappropriate in images and videos

o The guide will explicitly state the repercussions of violating the organization’s social media rules

• Provide social media education

o Have industry experts explain the importance of social media in the athletic setting

o Provide one training session for each semester

Social Media Plans Reason for Social Media Plan: Student-athletes and athletic communication professionals expressed the need for a social media presence in today’s sport setting. Social media establishes the “who” and “what” factors of an individual. An individual student-athlete’s posting set the tone of who he or she is, and what he or she cares about. Similarly, sports organizations that utilize social media are subject to the same “who” and “what” elements. In all, a student-athlete and organization should focus on promoting the positive elements and/or traits when promoting their brand, because positive media postings are easier to control in relation to one’s target audience. Social media, rather than a website, is the preferred communication platform for a sports organization and student-athlete because of its ease of use, direct connectivity to audience, and cost effectiveness. Thus, the following social media plans for the sports organization and student-athlete will help achieve each user’s brand goals in relation to their target audience(s).

Social Media Plan for Sports Organizations

The first section of the social media plan will address the athletic organization and/or

sports team branding efforts. An organization’s brand is important in the student-athlete

recruitment and fan engagement processes. Through an effective social media strategy, sports

programs will be able to showcase a desirable team environment for potential recruits. This includes the locker room atmosphere, campus lifestyle, and overall educational experience.

Additionally, whether it be a like, comment or share, social media postings should be designed to prompt the fan/follower to engage with the organization’s content. To achieve the best social media practices within the amateur athletics setting, please refer to the following suggestions.

Social Media Platforms As expressed in the social media education section, an organization must identify which

social media platforms are the best to carry out their brand identity and messaging. From the interviews in this research project, three platforms, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, are the most frequently used in the collegiate athletic setting. Please note that social media is an always- evolving environment, and each organization and student-athlete should consistently monitor new and emerging trends. However, for the purpose of this project, the following suggestions reflect current trends for Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Instagram

For an athletic organization and/or sports team, Instagram is a platform that emphasizes

fun and creativity. Posts should be short, sweet and colloquial. Whether it be a graphic, video or

photo, Instagram postings should diversify from what is posted on other accounts. In the athletic

setting, Instagram is the ideal platform to post the following types of media content:

• Curated graphics for scores, student-athlete and coach achievements, and historical reference • Edited photo and video content, such as in-game action shots and behind-the-scenes access (practice, volunteerism, in class, road trips). • Instagram Stories o Chronicle events and off days o Share stories through student-athlete takeovers

Instagram Specific Dimensions • Photos: 1080x1080 • Videos: 1080 pixels wide • Stories: 1080x1920

Example of Instagram Graphics Post:

(@usc_athletics, 2020)

Twitter

For an athletic organization and/or sports team, Twitter is a platform that emphasizes information dissemination? and user engagement. Posts should be concise, informative, and enagaging. Whether it be an event or rally-cry, each post should feature a hashtag to drive followers to a discussion. Media content should be tailored to the tone of the platform (See

“Tone” p. 46). In the athletic setting, Twitter is the ideal platfrom to post the following types of social media posts:

• Gameday updates and information o Pre-game statistics and game info . Time . Place . Radio/Television Channel o In-game updates (Include, time and score) o Post-game graphics, coach quotes and player media • Organizational news and stories

Example of Gameday Tweets:

Pre-event statistics (Twitter) In-Game Updates (Twitter)

(@UNC_Basketball, 2020) (@DukeWSOC, 2019)

Facebook

For an athletic organization and/or sports team, the Facebook platform emphasizes

information dissemination? and user engagement. Posts should be concise, informative, and

enagaging. Media content should be tailored to the tone of the platform (See “Tone” p.__). In the

athletic setting, Facebook is the ideal platfrom to post the following types of social media posts:

• Sporting event previews and recaps • Breaking news • Feature stories • Curated graphics and video content

Example of Facebook Event Preview

(@NotreDameHockey, 2020)

Student-Athlete Social Media Plan The second section of the social media plan will address the student-athlete’s personal

branding efforts. An individual athlete’s brand is important in the recruitment and fan

engagement processes. Through an effective social media strategy, student-athletes will be able to showcase their skill-level and marketability. In order to achieve the best social media practices within the amateur athletics setting, please refer to the following suggestions.

Social Media Platforms

Before choosing a social media platform, the student-athlete should map out a list of

brand identifiers, such as humble, confident, fierce, thoughtful, etc., that he or she would want to

convey to their target audience. It is recommended that this process involves a communications

director, assistant coach, parent and/or guardian. Once the student-athlete has created a list of

brand identifiers, he or she should strategize which social media platforms, are most adept to

convey their desired message(s). After choosing a social media platform to utilize for their

personal brand strategy, then he or she should exemplify their brand identifiers to establish a presence on the platforms of their choice. This means that postings will contain the desired personal brand traits, and will interact with similar individuals and/or organizations. Interactions can take place in the form of a comment, share, like or any other function that sees the user engaging with another user’s profile.

From the interviews in this research project, two social media platforms, Instagram and

Twitter, are most frequently used by student-athletes in the collegiate setting. Social media can be an unnerving forum for a student-athlete, because of internet trolls, negative response from fans, and constant pressure to conform within organizational guidelines. However, social media is also a forum in which a student-athlete can express their ideas and opinions with their followers and establish a brand identity through social media tone.

Please note that social media is an always-evolving environment, and each sports organization and individual student-athlete should consistently monitor new and emerging trends. However, for the purpose of this project, the following suggestions apply to Instagram and Twitter only.

Instagram

For an individual student-athlete, Instagram is a platform that emphasizes fun and

creativity. Based on user optics, posts should be expressive, artistic, humorous and engaging. In

addition to Instagram, an individual should be mindful of Instagram Stories, too. The Stories

function, also accessible through the Instagram platform, allows a user to either post a photo or

video, and broadcast live video feed (Instagram, 2016). Each post is designed to disappear within

a 24-hour window on the platform. Whether it be a graphic, video or photo, Instagram postings

should diversify from what is posted on other accounts. In addition, interviewed student-athletes

said that they had converted their personal Instagram accounts into Instagram business profiles.

Although they sacrifice the ability to make their account private after switching to a business profile, the they will have access to the following metrics that are otherwise unavailable to the average? user (See Figure 4):

• Ages of followers • Gender of followers • When your followers are on Instagram • Countries in which your followers reside • Cities in which your followers reside

Regardless of the individual’s choice to either make their Instagram account public or private, Instagram is the ideal platform to post the following types of media content in the athletic setting:

• Curated graphics for personal achievements • Edited photo and video content, such as in-game action shots and behind-the-scenes access (practice, volunteerism, in-class, road-trips). • Instagram Stories o Chronicle events and off days o Share stories through student-athlete takeovers

Instagram Specific Dimensions • Photos: 1080x1080 • Videos: 1080 pixels wide • Stories: 1080x1920

Figure 4: Instagram Business Analytics

Twitter

For an individual student-athlete, Twitter is a platform that emphasizes information and user engagement. Posts should be concise, informative, and enagaging. Whether it be a personal catch phrase, nickname, or slogan, each post should feature a hashtag to drive followers to a discussion. In the athletic setting, Twitter is the ideal platfrom to post the following types of social media posts: (See Figure 5)

• Popular culture and trends

o Challenges initiated by fellow student-athletes, or peers, such as the #StayAtHomeChallenge, which was made popular during the 2020

COVID-19 pandemic. Athletes, particularly soccer players, juggled rolls

of toilet paper using their feet only. Subsequently, the user challenged

other individuals to share videos of them doing the same. Challenges and

common trends are ways to establish personality on Twitter.

• Personal news

o The student-athlete, in conjunction with his or her communications director, should be the leading expert and reporter in regards to personal

news. This includes breaking news, such as one’s decision to sign with a

sports program, or transfer to another school.

Figure 5: Example of Student-Athlete Tweets

Popular Culture/Trends (Twitter) Personal News (Twitter)

(@AlexComsia, 2020) (@McclungMac, 2020)

CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION

Now, more than ever, social media is a key component in the brand-building process in

amateur athletics. For an organization and/or a sports team, social media is a key platform in

which to provide information, generate media content and engage with fans. From the student- athlete’s perspective, social media provides the opportunity to project one's brand identity. As defined by Busch & Davis (2018), a personal brand can be a crucial differentiator in today’s hyper-competitive job market, which can also be applied to the athletics setting. A student- athlete’s ability to stand out on social media, as expressed in “The Instagram Stars of High-

School Basketball,” by Taylor Lorenz, can be the separating value among elite-level athletes.

The purpose of this project was to create the best communication methods and branding strategies for elite-level high school athletics program. The project analyzed the ways in which both the sports organization (team or athletic department) and the student-athlete, could maximize their social media followings as a competitive strategy in the recruiting process, sponsorship acquisition, and fan engagement. A sports team and student-athlete alike can utilize social media as a starting point to build their brand. Juxtaposed to a website, which requires one to acquire a domain name and tedious management, social media has low-entry barriers to use and low operating costs. As seen in the cases of Zion Williamson, Cole Anthony and Julian

Newman, high school basketball stars generate large social media followings; thus, how can individuals and schools capitalize on an emerging phenomenon?

To answer this question, the project utilized secondary research and in-depth interviews with communication specialists in collegiate athletics, collegiate student-athletes, and other

experts in branding and social media strategy. The in-depth interviews provided great insight into

the athletic communications world at the collegiate level. In return, the findings from the

interviews allowed this plan to be constructed and tailored for high school athletics.

Among the key findings, communicators said that a student-athlete’s social media postings, prior

to college, rarely affected his or her ability to be accepted to a sports team. Additionally, social

media metrics, such as likes, shares and comments, do not correlate with monetary value. Rather,

social media is not a valuable selling tool, but a valuable tool to obtain information about a fan

base and fan interests. Lastly, communicators did not believe that one’s individual brand would

outweigh the overall goals of the team in the “Shoot vs. Pass” scenario.

To address the social media brand-building efforts in high school athletics, a social media education guideline was designed for the organizations and/or teams. The purpose of the social media education section was derived results showing the student-athletes’ need for organizational guidelines and policies. In addition to the social media educational section, social media plans were provided for sports organizations and student-athletes alike. Each social media plan addressed what types of content should be posted on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, as well as the types of tones to be used on each platform.

Going forward, this plan and the proposed strategies could be drastically altered by the

2020 Coronavirus pandemic, which has halted the sporting community for the foreseeable future.

Communications in the collegiate athletic setting is not always a necessity, in the sense that social media efforts do not affect the performance of a sports team. The looming potential revenue loss in the collegiate and high school athletics sports setting could see communication offices reduced to basic roles and functions. As a result, this would mean there would be fewer resources available to operate and utilize social media platforms from the organizational

perspective. Despite the challenges faced by the sports organizations during the Coronavirus

pandemic, student-athletes have been presented an opportunity to showcase their unique

identities on a large social media stage. Unlike any other time in sports history, social media is a

paramount communication tool, which extends beyond television and radio at this time.

During the Coronavirus epidemic, organizations are limited in their abilities to recruit and

travel; thus, student-athletes have the opportunity to spotlight themselves among their rivals to

inquiring coaches and programs. One could presume that social media in sports is going to

change drastically, and will become an even-more-valuable recruiting tool for the future. In the past decade, high school level athletics have soared in popularity, with stars like Zion

Williamson and Cole Anthony leading the way. Hand-in-hand, social media has grown exponentially as well in the last ten years. In all, the time has come for high schools and high school student-athletes to capitalize on an unprecedented amount of fame through branding strategies that focus on the recruiting process, sponsorship/endorsement acquisition, and fan engagement.

APPENDIX A: INTERVIEW MATERIALS

1.1 Interview Protocol:

As part of a research study conducted to understand the increased popularity surrounding high school athletics and the best ways to communicate, I am conducting semi-structured in- depth interviews with branding and communication professionals, athletic administrators, athletes, and other sports-related individuals. During the interview you will be asked a series of questions about your field of expertise, knowledge of social media, the role of branding in the workplace (or athletic setting substitute), and your opinion on the past, present, and future of sports-related communications. In all, your responses will be used to formulate a sports communications plan that benefits high school athletics. If you decide to participate in this study, below are some things you should keep in mind (Austin, 2018): ● Your participation is voluntary, and you may discontinue participation at any time by either leaving the interview or stating that you desire not to answer a specific question. ● Participation in the interview poses minimal risks to you. You may feel uncomfortable expressing your opinions and ideas during the interview, but you may also choose not to answer any questions that you do not desire to answer. If you would like more information or would like to talk to someone about the topics, please let me know. ● There are no direct benefits to you as a participant, although you could indirectly benefit from the creation of communications materials and improved branding strategies for high school athletics in the following years. ● Your name will not be used in any reports about this interview. I will take notes during the interview about what was said, but no names or potentially identifiable data will ever be used in a public manner. ● The interview will be audiotaped so that when I write our report, we can make sure we understand everything that was said. Audiotapes will not be shared or distributed and will be destroyed after completion of the research. ● The interview will take between 45-70 minutes (Austin, 2018). Are you comfortable proceeding? (If yes, continue)

I. Field of Expertise First, I’d like to ask you a few questions about your field of expertise.

1. Can you state your profession (branding and communication professional, athletic administrator, athlete, or sports-related field – please specify)?

2. How long have you worked or participated in your field?

3. What are your day-to-day duties?

II. Social Media Knowledge Secondly, I would like to ask you about your knowledge about social media in relation to sports.

1. Do you use any social media platform? a. Probe: If yes, what platforms and why? b. Probe: If no, why do you not use social media?

2. What metrics do you analyze when using social media? a. Probe: Why are those numbers important? b. Probe: How are you getting those numbers? c. Probe: How do you use those metrics strategically?

3. Do you follow any athletes and/or sports teams on social media? a. Probe: If yes, what athletes and/or teams do you follow and why? b. Probe: If no, do you follow anyone outside of a personal circle (friends and family)?

4. What are the best social media platforms for sports? a. Probe: Best platforms for athletes or individuals? b. Probe: Best platforms for teams or organizations?

III. Branding in the Workplace Next, I’d like to ask you about your knowledge and/or experience(s) about branding in the workplace.

1. Have you ever had a personal brand or mantra? a. Probe: If yes, how do you express or promote your brand? b. Probe: If no, why do you not have brand or mantra?

2. Does one’s personal brand affect their ability to be recruited or hired for a position? a. Probe: If yes, what elements of a personal brand do you consider to be essential and non-essential for one to be recruited or hired for a position? b. Probe: If no, what elements of an individual do you value most when recruiting or hiring?

3. Does the growth of one’s personal brand conflict with the organization’s overarching goals? (Shoot vs. Pass) a. Probe: If yes, what ways can you combat those challenges? b. Probe: Will this become more common in sports? 1. Probe: If yes, why do you believe that? 2. Probe: If no, why has this not become a problem?

IV. Sports-Related Communications (Past/Present/Future) Next, I’d like to ask you a few questions about your knowledge of sports-related communications from the past, present, and future.

1. Do you follow sports-related news and stories? a. Probe: If yes, what types of news and stories do you follow (scores, previews/recaps, features, behind-the-scenes, projections, other – please specify)? 1. Probe: Where do you receive your sports-related news and stories (online, social media, newspaper, television, radio, other – please specify)?

2. Historically, can you name a sports-related communications campaign that stood out to you? a. Probe: If yes, what made the campaign stand out?

3. In what ways can sports-related communication and media improve? a. Probe: If provided suggestions, why do sports communication departments or media outlets need to make these changes? b. Probe: If no suggestions, do you think the current state of sports communications and media outlets serve their functions as news and/or entertainment providers?

V. Follow-up Questions

1. Do you have any follow-up questions for me?

Thank you for your time!

(Thank them for their time, reiterate how this information will be used, and inform them that they have every right to contact our group at any time to obtain more information or withdraw their interview data (Austin, 2018).)

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